Ashley Force Hood raced to the qualifying lead in Funny Car Friday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Larry Dixon, Jeg Coughlin and Steve Johnson also paced qualifying in their respective categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

Force Hood powered her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a track record time of 4.032 seconds at 311.99 mph to grab the top spot in the 7,000-horsepower category at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

Pat Musi, with a 5.961 elapsed time at 229.98 miles per hour, was the provisional low qualifier following the first GSA Pro Modified qualifying session on Friday during the NHRA Summit Nationals.

For Musi, this marks the first time since the 1981 NHRA U.S. Nationals he has led a professional division under the sanction.

“It was pretty cool to be on top, but I know it's not over yet,” said Musi. “But we ain't over yet either. When we come out in the morning, we plan to lay one down.”

NHRA GSA Pro Modified driver Tony Pontieri emerged uninjured from a fiery crash during qualifying for the NHRA Summit Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

What began as a guy trying to decorate a wall in his garage evolved into the drag racing collectibles industry.

"I kept hounding this movie-poster dealer for one from Drag Strip Girl," says Mike Goyda, who, in the 18 years since, has become the preeminent purveyor of drag racing memorabilia in the world. "That poster cost me so little, it was amazing – I'm talking $10 or $20. Guys would come by to see the cars in my garage and end up asking me if I could find them a poster, and it just took off from there. I started getting calls from people all over the country. When I got started in all this, there was no real established market; nobody was really dealing in this kind of memorabilia."

Today, Goyda's inventory consists of between 75,000 and 100,000 items. If you can imagine it, he probably has it.

Jim Head is back in his laboratory conjuring up ideas, again.

The longtime drag racing innovator used to seek performance gains from his inventions but in the last half decade or so, his agenda has changed. He’s all about safety.

The focus of Head’s latest innovation is in getting the nitro cars stopped quicker and safer. While the outspoken advocate of 1,000 foot nitro racing believes shortening the race course has made drag racing on the 300 mph level safer than ever and easier to stop the cars, the revised course is not the end all to making nitro racing safer.

The AMA Dragbike Series has ceased operations indefinitely citing today's economic climate, rising costs and decreasing revenue as the reason.

"Motorcycle Drag Racing has been a passion for both of us for many years and we have given all of ourselves to this sport," said Brandi Neithamer, Vice President of AMA Dragbike. "We knew this year would be very difficult given the economic conditions, but we never anticipated it would go downhill so quickly. Scott Valetti and I have a tough road ahead of us to close the business, and we hope to receive the support of the community during this difficult time."

David Pryor, 56, and noted Pro Modified sponsor passed away suddenly Monday, June 14th, in Southern Pines, North Carolina.  He was part owner and President/CEO of Radiac Abrasives,

It's been five years since the Super Chevy Show made an appearance at Houston Raceway Park.

That will change later this year when the touring series, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, returns to Baytown thanks in part to  O'Reilly Auto Parts and Ron Craft Chevrolet of Baytown, who were announced as presented by sponsors for the event this week.

O'Reilly Auto Parts is one of the top auto parts retailers in the country. It has grown from a regional base in Southwest Missouri to a national corporation that includes 3,469 stores covering 38 states. Ron Craft Chevrolet is one of the top Chevrolet dealerships in the Houston area, and the number one selling dealership in Baytown, celebrating its 30th year in Baytown and 2009 winner of the prestigious General Motors Mark of Excellence Award. The dealership features world class customer service and sales of new and pre-owned Chevrolets.

Record Crowds Expected at Largest Nitro Jam in History

Hometown racer Jay Mageau and his “Prospector” Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car are hoping to add another Ironman to their collection at Edmonton’s River Cree Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals at Castrol Raceway this weekend.

And he isn’t alone.

Tommy Delago knows if the situation with John Medlen joining Ed “The Ace” McCulloch ends up working the way it did when the former joined his team, the NAPA team will be a force to be reckoned with, even more than they were before.

Delago was informed days before the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., that Medlen would not only be joining his team but also hold the position of co-crew chief.

In a sport where tuners can be very territorial, Delago wasn’t intimidated by the credentials the new DSR tuner brought to the mix.